61)Back in my early 20s. when "sensible" wasn’t part of my weight-loss vocabulary., I tried a diet that was limited to just a few "healthy" foods. Three weeks into it, after religiously adhering to a regimen of salads and meats, I had nearly reached my goal of losing 8 pounds. 62) But my progress wasn’t as sweet as I exnected. Instead of celebrating my emerging figure. I was obsessed with what I couldn’t eat. Warm, crusty bread. Noodles smothered in red sauce. Chocolates packed with almonds. One night I abandoned the diet and gorged on every food I’d been missing. Over the next two weeks, I ate more than ever. No surprise that I quickly regained 8 pounds, and put on 2 more.
63) It sounds like the old diet-binge cycle that we’ve all heard about so often. But many weight-loss experts are starting to think about that cycle in a new. more positive way. The answer for long-term weight control, they say, may be just the opposite of restriction: it may simply be eating a greater variety of foods than ever.
My brazen (and unfortunate) act of indulgence was the direct effect of a boring, restrictive diet, suggests Kathy Hubbert, coordinator of the EatRight Weight Management program at the University. of Alabama, Birmingham. "If you tell someone they cannot have, say, a piece of cheesecake, then that is the first thing they want to have," says Hubbert. "And then when they eat that piece of cheesecake, they say, ’Oh, now I’ve blown it, so I might as well blow it every day.’"
At Tufts University in Boston, researchers studied 71 healthy men and women aged 20 to 80 years who provided detailed reports of everything they ate for six months. ) People who routinely ate a variety of nutrient-dense foods such as vegetables, fruits, and whole grains tended to be lean. The researchers found that when people eat a variety of desirable foods, especially vegetables, they eat fewer nutrient-poor, calorie-dense foods such as cookies, candy, and chips. Overall, they consume fewer calories without consciously restricting their intake.
They are also much more likely to consume the full range of vitamins and minerals they need. 65) Nutrition studies, including one conducted by scientists at the Department of Agriculture. which yzed the dietary records of 3.701 people representing a cross section of the US population, regularly find that individuals who eat different foods from each of the major food groups have the healthiest diets.